Vercellino, tough D late help Northern Colorado to 85-82 win

2/9/18 12:40 AM

POCATELLO, Idaho — With one second left, Roberto Vercellino stole an inbounds pass, denying Idaho State the chance of a final basket and Northern Colorado held onto an 85-82 win on Thursday night in the Big Sky Conference.

Vercellino, who played just four minutes in the second half, also blocked a potential tying shot with four seconds left. Jordan Davis led the Bears with 24 points, Andre Spight added 18. Northern Colorado (16-9, 7-5) shot 57 percent (30 of 53) and lost three players — who scored a combined 26 points — to fouls and two others were playing with four.

There were 58 fouls and 72 free throws in the game.

Neither team had a lead larger than 10 and Idaho State was trailing by eight with 1:39 to play when Brandon Boyd scored five points in a 7-1 rally that closed the gap to 83-81 in a minute.

The Bengals got the ball on a turnover with 16 seconds to go, but Vercellino blocked Boyd’s attempt for a layup and then had the clinching steal.

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